1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing and accessing educational information over a computer network and to a graphical user interface for display of educational information in a format to facilitate learning and a users navigation of a particular web site.
2. Background of the Invention
Educational material has traditionally been available primarily in the form of books or other similar written material. For years this has been the primary teaching method in schools, colleges and universities. Some downsides are that books are cumbersome to carry and also are rather expensive, especially considering the frequency in which books need to be updated.
Networks, such as the Internet and World Wide Web (the xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d) has provided a mechanism by which computers are able to share information, including educational material. Computers which share information over the Internet typically operate according to a client/server protocol. Servers operate to provide information, such as web pages, which are available over the Internet and can be retrieved by other computers operating as clients. Typically, when a web page is retrieved, a request is made by the client over the Internet to a particular server which maintains the information. The server, in turn, transfers the requested web page to the client computer, where it can be displayed. The client computer will typically utilize a network xe2x80x9cbrowserxe2x80x9d program, such as MICROSOFT(copyright) Internet Explorer, to identify the particular web page and to display the web page after it has been received.
Some of the problems associated with accessing educational information over the Internet are that it is difficult to target particular subjects of information, information that is obtainable is often times difficult to understand by some individuals, especially children, resulting with a loss of interest, the material is provided in formats that are complicated to follow and it is often difficult to obtain more than a limited amount of information relating to a particular topic.
The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing and to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
The present invention discloses a system and method for providing and accessing educational information over a computer network, such as the Internet. In addition, the present invention provides a graphical user interface for use on a computer in general and in particular to a computer connected to a network such as the Internet.